Comment Re:Cameras .. (Score 1) 119
Yes, it is for the wifi antenna. Both earlier versions of the iPod Touch (before cameras were rumored) included the same plastic patch.
Comment Re:I've (Score 1) 177
Let us know how long it takes you to scan a 400-page book using that method. I bet it's a tad over 20 minutes.
Comment Re:That's bad advice. (Score 1) 410
Why not tell the new job you'll start in 4 weeks, work the last 2 weeks at the old job, then take a 2 week vacation in between? (Assuming you can handle it financially.) If the new job presses you about the time span, try to gauge what their reaction will be and give them an semi-honest answer if you think they'll bite ("I'm taking a break to recharge before I start here, so I'm totally refreshed and can jump right in"). If you don't think they'd like that, you could fall back on a white lie and say you've got some personal stuff to take care of. Either way, everything is cleared up front and there are no shenanigans that can come back to haunt you once you begin the new job.
Comment Re:Article title correction (Score 1) 152
I first read "reject" as a verb when it's actually used as a noun (or an adjective in your example), but 'rejection' is much clearer. And it wasn't trivial to separate the subject from the rest of the sentence. How about this:
"A New Home for Stories of iPhone App Store Rejection"
Comment Re:Remember... (Score 1) 1095
Furthermore, Europeans completely understand that a government often does not represent its people. They may hate Bush, but they won't hold that against you, just as they would hope you wouldn't treat an Englishman poorly because you don't like the Prime Minister.
Comment Re:Remember... (Score 1) 1095
That's simply untrue. Perhaps it was once the case (I doubt it), but it certainly isn't now. I've been all around Europe (though admittedly not to England in particular) and I've never had any problems telling people that I am American. It's your attitude that they will judge you by, not your nationality. I've always been welcomed with open arms. Putting a Canadian flag on your backpack is not only unnecessary but disingenuous.
Comment Re:Missing Features (Score 1, Insightful) 164
So, you don't get all the features if you port in an existing number. How
There's really no point to this new option -- it's just a stripped down 'lite' version of the existing service aimed at drawing in people who were scared off by the "you'll have to change your phone number" nonsense. There's absolutely no reason to choose this option when you sign up. If all you want are the voicemail features, sign up for a "full" account (with a new number), then add your existing phone and switch on voicemail handling. That's it.
Actually, this new option is even worse: once you set it up, you can't go back to your carrier's voicemail system. You're stuck with Google's whether you like it or not.
And by the way, it's not full number porting, you still keep the same carrier. Not yet at least -- Google says that's on the horizon.
Finnish Court Dismisses E-Voting Result 114
wizzor writes in with a follow-up on the Finnish municipal election in which 2% of the votes were lost by a defective e-voting system, and which the Helsinki Administrative Court had found acceptable. Now the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland has rejected the election results (original in Finnish; bad Google translation here) and ordered the election to be re-run. The submitter adds, "Apparently 98% of the votes isn't enough to determine how the remaining 2% voted, after all."
Paid Shilling Comes to Twitter 134
An anonymous reader alerts us that an outfit called Magpie is paying Twitter users to tout advertisers' products. Marshall Kirkpatrick of ReadWriteWeb has identified a number of household-name companies — among them Apple, Skype, Kodak, Cisco, Adobe, Roxio, PC Tools, and Box.net — whose products are hyped by identically worded, paid Magpie tweets. But comments to Kirkpatrick's post, including one from a Box.net spokesman, make it sound likely that these shills were paid for not by the companies themselves, but by affiliate marketers. That may not matter. In the same way that Belkin recently got burned paying consumers to write complimentary online reviews about the company's products, the makers of products and services touted through Magpie may find themselves tainted in the backlash from this new form of astroturfing. Kirkpatrick concludes his post: "So there's the Twitter-sphere for you! Bring on 'real time search,' bring on a globally connected community, bring on vapid, vile, stupid shilling. It all seems pretty sad to me."
Nine Words From Science Which Originated In Science Fiction 433
An anonymous reader writes "Oxford University Press has a blog post listing nine words used in science and technology which were actually dreamed up by fiction writers. Included on the list are terms like robotics, genetic engineering, deep space, and zero-g. What other terms are sure to follow in the future?"
Comment Re:User-changable battery? (Score 1) 606
To be honest, having owned several iPods including the Touch (and no other Apple products), I have never missed not having a replaceable battery. Just plug it into the PC, or into an AC adapter. Why fumble with taking the battery out, putting it in a charger, etc? The slimmer size is well worth the (theoretical) niceness of being able to carry an extra battery.
Best Wi-Fi Portable Browsing Device? 426
foxxo writes "I'm a library worker, so I get lots of questions about our collection when I'm out in the stacks. I'd love to be able to access our online catalog and give patrons more comprehensive guidance without directing them to the reference desk. What options are available for a portable device with Wi-Fi connectivity, full-featured Web browsing, and (most importantly) no cellphone-style activation and service fees? Size is important, too; I need something I can carry in my pocket, not a micro-notebook with full keyboard. (And I am a library worker, so low cost is key!)" One device that sounds interesting in this category is the GiiNii Movit (not yet released, but shown off at CES). What can you recommend that's out there now?
Google Releases Chrome 2.0 Pre-Beta 326
Nick Fletcher writes "Just a few short months after the initial release, Google has released a pre-beta version of Google Chrome 2.0. It sports a few new features including form auto-completion, full-page zoom, 'profiles,' and Greasemonkey support. It seems the only notable feature would be profiles, which allows users to separate out their homepage, history, and bookmarks on a per user or category basis. It seems Google is still playing catch-up but they're definitely moving at a pace unknown to some of their competition. The full list of new features is available in the release notes."
Comment Re:we're supposed to cry foul? (Score 1) 80
So let me get this straight. When coal miners lose their jobs because of changes in the energy industry, it's progress, and the onus should be on the workers to be flexible and learn new skills
Coal mining is old technology and something new has come along to potentially replace it in its industry. There's no new technology to replace today's IT, therefore these workers who are being laid off are at the forefront and their laying off cannot be called progress.
AT&T 3G Upgrades Degrade 2G Signal Strength 210
Timothy R. Butler writes "Much to the chagrin of owners of various 2G cell phones on AT&T Mobility's network, including the highly visible (and originally highly expensive) first-generation iPhone, we have discovered that AT&T has been quietly adjusting its network in ways that degrade 2G network performance as it has sought to build out its next-generation 3G network. Many of the phones affected, including BlackBerry devices, are still well within their two-year contract period."
